New Jersey Bus Driver Potentially Facing Trial

The bus driver at the wheel in the May 17th New Jersey crash that left one student and her teacher dead is facing two counts of vehicle homicide/death by auto. Charged one week after the crash, the driver spent nearly a week in jail before being released. He was forced to surrender his license, agreed to have no contact with the families of the victims, and will report twice a month to the court’s pretrial services unit.

More details have emerged alleging that Hudy Muldrow, Sr, attempted to steer his bus across three lanes of highway traffic after missing his turn on that fateful morning. He was apparently trying to reach an official-use-only turnaround in the median of the highway, and his bus collided with a dump truck. The force of the collision separated the body of the bus from the chassis in what rescuers called “horrific” circumstances.

In New Jersey, if Muldrow doesn’t enter into plea negotiations, a grand jury consisting of 23 citizens will hear the evidence and a majority vote decides whether he will be charged or not. The grand jury may also increase the charges to first-degree, aggravated manslaughter. They will also consider assault charges for each of the injuries to other riders.

The current charges could result in 10-20 years in prison for Muldrow.

The prosecutor concedes this is an unusual case and that he has his work cut out for him; the driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, so proving that he’s guilty of manslaughter could prove tricky.